


Lost in the Woods

by AQA473



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Ambiguous Underage, F/F, Femslash February, Saria's technically an adult right, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-24 01:52:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6137233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AQA473/pseuds/AQA473
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by other Sheik works on AO3. Sheik Goes to the Forest Temple to create the teleportation song for Link and stumbles into the future sage. Pre-game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost in the Woods

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Stealth_Noodle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stealth_Noodle/gifts).



> This is heavily inspired by Stealth_Noodle's Sheik stories, particularly the one about Ruto, so there may be many similarities. I wrote this mainly to increase the number of Sheik femslash fics in the world because there's not enough, and I wanted to write in a person people don't often pair with Sheik. This is not an M!Sheik, there's plenty of those. Also, at the ass end of the month and on the leap-year day, this is for Femslash February. If anyone sees any major mistakes or thinks something should be changed, inform me immediately and it will be done. I did not reread it because I passed out while reading it (it's not boring, I swear, I was just really tired.) I wouldn't mind doing other Sheik/Zelda stuff in the future, so if anyone has any specific prompts or ideas, let me know.

The smell of corruption seeps from the wood, from the bark and the grass, buried in the very soil and wrapping around the roots. This forest is suffocating. It’s only a matter of time.

Parts of the Lost Woods are worse than others, gradually growing more severe as I go farther in. A swipe of my hand over the bark of an oak tears away a swath of bark, crumbling under my light touch. Its dark particles scatter from my wrapped fingers.

This far, I’m thankful for my coverings. It doesn’t eliminate this foul smell, but it makes it breathable. Surprisingly, I’ve yet to encounter any hostiles. Though, I suppose Ganon doesn’t want his movements here to be so obvious. I can’t imagine that having a little guard protecting his operation would be such a bad strategy.

I pass by more mottled trees, dashing over withering roots and smaller foliage that will never grow more than a few inches in this state. The smell isn’t getting worse anymore.

To my right, I see the tree I brushed with my left hand. That can’t be, though. I was going straight, I know it.

Turning around, I watch my feet, ensuring that they are parallel. One foot after the other. Once I get a rhythm going, longer strides come easily. Quick glances up keep me from bounding into a tree, but I watch my feet carefully.

The air waves, balancing between putrid and pure, as if I’m on the precipice of the corruption and the unsullied.

“Gah!” I shout, falling to the ground. I rub my head, having rammed headlong into the trunk of a tree. Looking up, the same tree I swiped ten minutes ago. But, I was watching my feet, I was going straight. And the hints of soft air, surely I was making progress.

Curses, this must be why Ganon’s forces aren’t positioned here. They don’t need to be here. This place is a maze! Everything looks the same, and there’s some kind of spell or enchantment that prevents travelers from traversing beyond a certain point, likely to protect the temple in the heart of the forest, ancient defenses created by the Goddesses themselves. But then how did Ganon get to it?

I clench my teeth, pounding a fist into the grainy dirt. No. I breathe deeply, exhaling slowly. I will not succumb to frustration. I’ve survived this long under Ganon’s fist, this will be no different.

If there’s clean air near the tarnished tree, where it certainly was not when I first passed through, then something, or someone, must be here purifying the forest, or the air at least. Glancing around, I find no sight of anything beyond plants and darkness. An old tree stump, cradled in a small shaft of light piercing the canopy above, lies rooted in the ground a few meters from me. As good a place as any to settle.

It’s still hard, not soft like decaying organic matter. Perhaps the corruption is keener on destroying the living than the dead, though I know that’s not true. Hyrule castle and the surrounding villages say enough that that extant. Then perhaps this light… I don’t feel any different. Well, maybe more at peace, like everything’s going to be okay. Which is hard to believe with my home destroyed and a dark cloud looming over the great volcano that shadows Hyrule. Corruption lies everywhere, festering like a plague, bringing death and misery everywhere it goes. If Ganon gets his wish, which he just might at this rate, Hyrule, the entire known world, will be doomed.

And yet, sitting on this illuminated stump, my heart feels elevated. Evil never prevails. The stories of old always depict a hero, standing tall and vanquishing the darkness when the light seems all but gone. And while we still have hope, he’ll come. But I’m done waiting. It’s why I’m here. Even if I lack the power to do what the hero must, I can buy time for the world until he returns.

Reaching into my covering, I retrieve my lyre, something given to me by an old friend. Never one to be sentimental, she left no initials or personal engravings of any kind on the treated wood. The strings are well bound and taut, as if just crafted by the finest artisans. It looks a bit too royal for my ruddy attire, but I couldn’t part with it. I’ll need it in the future when the hero is ready. Music will carry us from this hell, as it always has.

My fingers pluck the strings, following a pattern I learned more than a decade ago, lying in bed under the watchful eye of my caretaker.

“Days are cold, the skies are gray, it might seem our graves are laid.

“In the dark, where evil fights, there rests a single shaft of light.

“Hope will carry us, through the dark-e-ness; our strength will see us blessed.”

I hum out the final notes, my fingers relaxing on the soft wood of my lyre.

Applause, hands clapping against one another, draws my head up. A figure, a girl, walks out gently across the dying grass. Only it isn’t dying anymore. She’s small, couldn’t be older than fourteen, though certainly filled out for her age. Only, she isn’t the age she seems. Dressed in green and accompanied by a glowing fairy, she’s one of the Kokiri, the people of the forest. I had hoped to avoid encountering their kind; the less questions asked the better, and I couldn’t risk Ganon becoming aware of my presence.

Yet here this girl, or woman, is. She seems familiar, though perhaps only from discussions I overheard in the castle halls. Under Ganon’s almost immediate takeover, I had no time to become acquainted with my subjects. But her green hair, cut into a natural bob framing her soft but mature features, gives her away.

“Saria,” I say. She continues clapping, growing closer. Her fairy lolls lazily beside her head. I tuck the lyre away as red fills my cheeks. I’m once again thankful for my wrappings. “It’s rude to spy.”

“But you play so well, and your voice is lovely.” She sounds sweet and soft, like the grass that seems to heal under her step. She’s all flowers and nectar. I move to stand.

“I can’t stay.”

“It seems you have no choice, though.”

I look back to her. Her grin irritates me. As if she knows better. But I can’t reveal my identity.

“A young man, assuming, walks into the Lost Woods and expects not to get lost? So sure, are you?” She leans forward, hands clasped behind her back. If eyes could smile, hers are. The fairy shoots out, spinning around my head. I blow at it, shooing it away. Or her. I never did much study on lesser fairies.

“I’ve fought this corruption before.” I keep my voice low, sharp. A persona I’ve developed over years of never using my own voice. It’s paid off so far.

“And thought you could weave through the enchanted defenses of the Lost Woods? It takes more than a keen sense of smell to figure out this one.”

“Look, if you know the way through, then tell me or leave. Time runs short.”

She shakes her head, that grin never leaving her face. Green clothes, green hair, even her skin seems to be tinted in the shade of the moss and the leaves. The glow from her floating companion fails to hide the green in her skin. I suppose I could have run into a worse sight.

“This path cannot be taught. It must be learned, and you don’t have time for exploration.” I let my silence speak for me, crossing my arms. “Well,” she continues. “Let’s make a deal!”

I scoff, the tuft of hair over my eyes swinging in the motion. “Speak and be done with it.”

“So curt! But that’s okay, I understand. The world grows colder each day, as you said in your lovely song.” My wraps hide the red in my cheeks. “It’s hard to find people to trust, and it seems the most trustworthy of us has disappeared.”

“You know of him?”

“Link? I’ve known him his entire life. Though,” she strokes her arm, her smile faltering. The fairy drifts behind her, almost solemn in its movements. “Not anymore, huh? Yes, I knew him. He’s the reason I’m here now.”

“You didn’t come to pester me?”

Her giggle could make a caterpillar sprout wings.

“Had I known you’d be here, maybe. But no, I want probably the same thing you do.” Her smile returns. Despite the uselessness of this conversation, it’s not an unwelcome sight.

“What’s your deal?”

“Eager to continue? Okay! I know the way to the forest temple, but I know there are things there I can’t handle. No one knows when Link will come back, and my village will be overrun in a matter of days if someone doesn’t do something.”

“And that someone is you.”

She shrugs. “I’m not much for bravery. That was always Link’s area of expertise. But everyone else just hides in their homes, closing their doors to the sounds of spiders crawling over our livelihoods. They all believe Link killed the Great Deku Tree, dooming us all, but I know that isn’t true. Yet, that same corruption that killed our guardian spirit will soon get us all.”

“Now you want a henchman?” I could listen to her talk all day, but there’s work to be done.

“You don’t have to put it so callously! Let’s be partners, working together for the same end. I lead the way, and you fight Ganon’s minions. Together, we just might be able to stop this.”

“We can’t stop this. Only the hero has the power to save the shrines.”

“Then we’ll buy the world time until he gets here, make it easy for him. Wouldn’t want him doing all the work.” She adds the last statement with a wink.

“I really don’t have a choice.”

“I wouldn’t leave you stranded here, so you do have a choice.”

“Not if I want to reach the temple.”

“In that case, I guess you don’t have a choice,” she says, tapping her chin.

“I’m right behind you.”

Her eyes look me up and down. I can’t tell what she’s thinking. Looking for weapons on me? I hide my daggers when not in a fight. I do most of my work with my hands. Her eyes settle on my chest, only for a fraction of a second, but long enough for me to notice. She probably doesn’t know, but she might begin to suspect. I must tread carefully if I’m to continue hiding my identity.

Her fairy buzzes towards my face again. I resist the urge to swat at it.

“Cheri, leave the poor man alone! Oh, that reminds me! What your name? You seem to know mine, which is a little weird, but I never got yours.”

“Sheik, of the Sheikah tribe.” Not the most original, but no one’s questioned it yet. Not like Impa was around to instruct me on proper naming of an alter ego.

“Sheik, huh? Kinda like Shreek!”

“No, not like that at all.”

“I bet you like to keep it quiet, what with all the leather and cloth you’re wearing. Must be musty here in the forest.”

“I can’t complain.”

Her fairy, Cheri, hovers over again, taking care not to drift too near my face. Good to see it’s learning.

“Lead the way,” I say, gesturing into the woods.

“Wrong direction, actually.”

Thank you, wraps.

She walks in the opposite direction I gestured to, her hands clasped behind her back just above her butt. The loose Kokiri shorts the color of algae hang mid-thigh, exposing her nature-stained skin. I take a deep breath and follow. Not exactly the journey I imagined this would be, but it never is so simple.

\---

“And I couldn’t believe he’d just done that! I mean, I saw it but I still couldn’t believe it! It was like he was friends with the bees or something! Needless to say, we all had quite a bit of honey after that.”

I push aside another branch, careful to duck from its path as I release it.

“Please, don’t speak so much. We must be getting closer. Wouldn’t want to give us away.”

She turns around to me, a pout on her face. Cheri flies up and pokes my face. Now I swat the thing away. Cheri dodges and floats back to Saria.

“We are getting closer, but you’ll see. There shouldn’t be any risk of being found until we’re almost on top of the temple itself.”

“Fine.” I don’t want to argue with a child. Or not a child. Kokiri are so confusing.

In a couple more minutes, we reach a basin of water, almost like a mote at the base of a wall of foliage. It’s not unlike the carefully groomed bushes that once occupied the castle gardens. The memory sends a shock through my heart.

“What’s wrong?” She staring at me. No smile, no gleam in her eye. She seems concerned. For me.

“Nothing.” Her sight doesn’t waver. “Just old memories. How do we get through?”

“Link, when he comes here, will need to do it the hard way. But I know some tricks that I can’t share. Follow me.”

And I wasn’t already?

We walk along the water, dirt and wiry blades of grass occasionally falling into the reservoir. It doesn’t appear to be a stream, yet it ripples in constant motion. No stillness for insects to fester, as if the water itself fights to remain pure. The magic in this place is deep as I thought it would be.

We come to a stop without any word from Saria. I look to see why, it’s not like there’s a door here, and watch her pull out a small ocarina. Like the one Link brought all those years ago. The Kokiri have a long tradition with wind instruments, specifically the ocarina, so I suppose it’s no surprise that a member as prominent as Saria would have one. I read that they have magical properties, able to turn verse into action, unlike my lyre which can only teach, not perform.

Her lips grip the mouthpiece and the air soon fills with unfamiliar notes. The song is sad, carrying a sort of melancholy, like a lament, then it ends with a hopeful tune, juxtaposing the earlier grief. It must be a dirge of some sort.

The ground shakes, but only for an instant, then dirt and mud collapse through the ground, creating a small hole, no larger than the manholes in the city. Before my eyes, the ground starts repairing itself, sealing the hole.

Saria jumps in, followed quickly by Cheri, without a word. Looks like, yet again, I don’t have much choice. In a breath, I dive in feet first.

The fall is short. At my stature, I’m forced to duck lest the ground consume my head. In seconds, our entrance is sealed.

“Made it through okay?” I hear her, Saria’s voice as soft as a hymn, but I can’t see her. It’s completely dark. The air is wet. Even though the direction of this tunnel faces the direction of the mote, I hear no water, and my feet are dry. Though the soil here is damp.

“Clearly.”

“Hey, I was just asking.”

“You didn’t warn me about any of it.”

“I figured you for a quick learner.” My eyes adjust to the miniscule light Cheri gives off, allowing me to see the vague motion of Saria shrugging.

“Where does this lead?”

“The temple entrance. Like I said, no risk. Just don’t take any wrong turns.”

“Another maze?”

“The forest likes its secrets.”

We make slow progress, me having to stoop low and the path winding in every direction but forward. It feels like we’re descending, but the darkness and the damp is throwing off my senses. At some point, I’m able to stand up.

“How much farther?” I have a lot of patience, but this is wearing.

“Not much. I think.”

“You think?” Maybe this was a bad idea.

“I haven’t used this passage since I was a kid. Cheri remembers the way, but not the time.”

“Hold on. The firefly has been leading us the whole time?”

“She’s a fairy and she’s very smart! Fairies have impeccable memories and she took me here when I was a kid. I trust her.”

Too late to turn back, now.

“Just relax. We’ll get there.”

“I am relaxed.”

She laughs but otherwise doesn’t respond.

My fingers tremble touching the dirt walls. I press my cowl to my mouth and breathe deeply, exhaling slowly against my hand.

“Is it getting colder?”

“Um… maybe?”

Before I can ask her to clarify, she screams. Cheri buzzes around frantically, making it difficult to see what’s happening. It appears another set of arms are with us, but I can’t tell.

“Cheri, stop moving!”

Naturally, she doesn’t. I grunt, pushing forward and grabbing at Saria’s vague form. My hand grabs something cold and soft, but a sickly sort of soft, like decaying flesh.

“Saria, move toward me, now!” I remove a knife from my coverings as the arm falls down, following Saria’s retreat. I cut at the limb, tearing out rotting sinew and mud. I feel tissue splatter on my garments.

“Sheik! What’s happening?”

Another arm lunges for me as the first falls to the earth in pieces. I dodge the hand, backpedaling. Saria grunts as I hit her. I curse under my breath, falling back to pick her up.

“Sheik!”

“Shh, I’m right here. Just remain calm.” I grab her under her arms and drag her back, just out of reach of the monsters now peeling from the walls. I count three, but there could be farther in the darkness.

“Cheri says there’s a monster.”

“ReDeads, reanimated corpses of those long past.”

“B-but, how? Ganon’s touch shouldn’t reach this far down, not under the waters.”

“I think that whatever he has holding this place, they may have corrupted the water, too.”

She steps behind me again and grabs my arm. She’s shivering, and likely not from the cold.

“Step farther back. I may need to dodge them.”

She hesitates, but does as I ask.

The first re-dead, now with one arm, comes at me. I duck under its pathetic swipe then come out from under it, shoving my blade up underneath its skull as far as it can go. I grunt, swinging the knife out at an angle, nearly severing its head from its body. It collapses but I know it’s only a matter of time before the dark magicks holding it force it to stand once more.

“When I tell you to, move up, and don’t stop.”

Saria’s hand on my shoulder tells me she’s ready.

“Now!”

We step up, past the first corpse, and I engage the second and third, both coming at once.

Saria’s behind me, so ducking would put her in danger. Instead, I pull a chain from my sleeve, drawing it horizontally in front of me. All four of their arms fall into it. I quickly wrap the chain around their hand, draw them close, then chop all of them off with my knife. As the fourth appendage falls, so too does my weary blade. I curse under my breath, casting the useless hilt aside.

“Push into me.” I feel Saria’s weight behind me and I shove forward. Our combined strength knocks the ReDeads to the ground. I can’t see anything else beyond.

“Run, now!”

We step over the recovering ReDeads and Saria grabs my hand, likely for balance. I can hardly see.

“Tell Cheri to fly in front.”

“Okay. Cheri, do as he says.” A moment passes. The moans behind us grow louder. There can’t be more, can there? “I know, but we have to trust him! Go!” Cheri flies past my face and floats in front, just in time to illuminate a wall I nearly collide with. “Ugh!” Saria grunts as she hits my back, coming to a full stop. She takes five whole seconds to extricate herself from me. I exhale slowly.

“We can’t stop. Just tell me which direction to go. I’m leading now.”

“Cheri, where… Left.”

And we’re off. The ceiling collapses behind us, following quickly by groans. They’re coming out of the damned ceilings now.

“Why is this happening?”

“We’ll talk about that later. Right now, we need to move.”

We press forward, her telling me what corners to cross or skip and my yanking us past waking undead. I don’t have time to pull another blade out, and it seems I have Saria’s arms in my hand. She manages to keep up with my pace and doesn’t try to get out of my grip. Wall after wall, re-dead after re-dead, all of it blurs together. And then Saria’s arm is gone.

“Saria. Saria!” Cheri fills my vision, a glowing pink blur, so bright I can’t make out a form if she has one. “What, what!? I can’t see! Move-” Cheri falls away, my eyes adjust, and I see a Like-Like protruding from  
the floor, spanning the entire width of the tunnel. Saria’s left leg is in its maw. Long, spindly appendages sprout from the walls, white like decayed flesh and spotted with crimson. Their clawed hand hold Saria’s mouth shut. Her eyes fill with water as she stares back at me, pupils wide.

Running at her, I pull a line of wire from my sleeve, wrapping it loosely around my hand. The Like-Like continues consuming Saria, and I somersault into the air. Swinging my body around, I bring the heel of my right leg down hard on the exposed flesh surrounding the Like-Like’s maw. It shudders, but refuses to release the Kokiri. I kick up the hands over Saria’s mouth and they move to return. I Pull my hand from the wire and hold it where they want to go. Saria watches as the two hands slip into the hole through the wire. Tightening the wire, the decayed hands sever at the palms. Long dead, no blood pours from the wounds. The handless arms retreat into the walls and I grab Saria by hers.

“It hurts!”

“I know, Saria. I know. Just hold onto me.”

Cheri grabs Saria’s tunic and tugs, though it does little more than tent the fabric. Using my nails, I tear holes in Saria’s sleeves and grip her skin. With both feet planted on the Like-Like’s mantle, I pull. My muscles tighten, teeth gritted.

“Amah!” Saria screams, but I can’t stop. The monster makes sickly noises as it likely attempts to digest the part of Saria already inside of it. This isn’t working.

“Cheri. Go into my pants. Don’t give me that look, just find something sharp.”

The fairy barely hesitates and vanishes from my sight. My legs tickle as she worms her way through my leggings. I almost let out a giggle but manage to muscle through it as I tug harder on Saria’s arms.

Cheri returns, swinging about a needle six inches in length. I had hoped for a dagger, but this will do.

“Saria, grab my shoulder.” I lean forward and her left arm jumps onto my shoulder and I pull back.

Cheri gives me the needle and I take aim. With a quick jerk, I throw the needle into the darkness of the Like-Like-s mouth. It unleashes an unearthly bellow and my legs spring back.

Saria and I launch backwards five, ten feet, skidding across the muddy ground.

I can’t see the damage on Saria’s leg, but I don’t have time to inspect it. The subterranean monster recovers and moves through the mud toward us. More gangly arms pierce the walls, growing closer, clawing at air with their bloody talons.

Saria’s fast breath passes through the cloth of my cowl. I can feel her heartbeat against my chest. She’s shivering, gripping my arms tightly.

“Saria,” I say, patting her lighter than I need to. “We need to move again.” She whimpers, tightening her grip. “Now.”

She loosens her grasp and I move. I flip underneath her and reach up, grabbing her thighs. “Hold on tight.” Her breath tickles my ears as I stand. Cheri flies beside me, keeping up the pace with my sprint.

“Left,” Saria whispers into my ear. I can’t stop a smirk from touching my lips.

“Thanks,” I say back.

I can feels a sticky mucus on her leg, making it difficult to keep a hold of her as I run through the narrow maze. The infinite hands grasping from the walls force me to jump and duck, slowing me down but never stopping me. Until one grabs Saria.

My right hand hold, but the left can’t get a grip and she flies from my back with a scream. Behind us, a Dead Hand shimmies to her, its head falling forward.

“I didn’t sign up for this,” I mumble, reaching down to grab needles from the now open pouch. Oh, they’re missing. “Thanks, Cheri. Not like I needed those.” She replies by thumping me on the cheek.

“Sheik!”

“Coming!” I dance between the infinite hands between me and her, spreading my limps and vaulting from my hands at various angles. Just before the Dead Hand’s gnarly mouth decapitates Saria’s emerald head, I fling myself from the ground, foot first. It impacts against the side of its head, snapping its neck backwards. The infinite hands flinch, affected by the pain inflicted on their charge.

Saria falls to the ground and I motion for her to climb back onto me, which she does but slowly.

“P-please… d-don’t let go again.”

I drop her to the ground. She breathes, about to speak, then I pick her up bridal style.

“I won’t.”

Then we’re off for hopefully the last time.

Just three more turns and we hit a dead end.

“Saria, what is this?”

“I don’t know…” She looks down, her arms swaying. I can’t see her pupils, but her eyes are wide.

“Hey, stay with me.” I shake her lightly. Moans draw my gaze over more shoulder. Infinite hands, ReDeads, and our old wormy friend. I can’t see the darkness past the horde of encroaching monsters. “Saria?” My voice is harsher than I intended it.

Cheri pokes me. For some reason, even this close, she doesn’t look like a ball of light anymore. Now, she’s actually like a little person with arms and legs. Intricate wings spring from her back, making her look like a butterfly hybrid. Her hair is long and orange, like the rest of her skin. Her lack of clothes makes me blush. She’s motioning over with her arms. Following her gestures points me to the wall.

“Yes, it’s a dead-end. I don’t see what’s-” As my eyes adjust, I see more. There’s a stone plaque adorning the wall at the very end. It has writing on it, ancient carving, but I can’t make it out. Saria!

“Saria, I think you have to play your ocarina again!”

She’s still staring down. “What’s the point?”

I blink. “Um, to live?”

She shrugs.

“Augh!” I drop her and she falls with a grunt. I stroke her shoulder, despite my anger. “Sorry, I didn’t mean- I mean, don’t be like that! We’re so close.”

A re-dead grabs my shoulder. I swing back my arm, smacking it, then I kick out, sending it flying into a pile of them.

“Come,” I hoist Saria up. “On!” Once she’s up on wobbly legs, I pat her clothes until I find her ocarina, hidden in a pouch in her tunic. “Here.” I wrap her fingers around it. But she just looks down.

The moans grow louder, the Like-Like clicking and dirt spitting about as the monsters advance. Cheri dings like a bell beside my ear and it’s all so loud. But I hear Saria’s voice, barely even a whisper.

“I’m scared.”

I grip her chin and force her to look into my eyes. Hers are blue, like sky, or the pure waters that used to circle this area. They contrast against the green coating the rest of her, but compliment it with a cool tone. They shimmer like a pond in sunlight, reflecting the glow from Cheri.

“Saria, we’ll make it out of here.”

“What have I don’t but get us into this mess?”

“Enough to get us through it. Even shaken and hurt, you still wove us through this maze without missing a beat. Now I need you to do this.” I hold her ocarina up to her face, my skin touching the backs of her palms.

Her eyes fall behind me, her pupils shrinking at the sight of the oncoming undead. Gripping her jaw, I draw her back to me. She’s so close, I can feel her sharp breathes on my lips through my cowl.

“Just look at me. Ignore everything else.” My hands hold her arms lightly so she can move.

With a shaky motion, she presses the mouthpiece into her lips.

The notes come out quiet and warped. Tears fall down her face. This won’t work.

Another bloody arm on my shoulder forces me to leave her side for a moment. I kick and punch, forcing them to back off, but the Like-Like’s almost here and I won’t be able to do anything against it. I only have a couple deku nuts left and I’d rather save them for anything farther in.

“Saria,” I say, turning back to her. I have to stoop down slightly to reach her level. She stops, looking at me with despondent eyes. “Just concentrate on me. I’m right here and I’m telling you that you can do this. Breathe in,” she does so. “And breathe out. You. Can. Do. This.”

My eyes don’t leave hers as they close. Her eyelashes are long and flutter on her high cheek bones.

The notes are stronger, loud, and pierces the cacophony rising from behind me. It’s the same solemn tone from before, and she recites it perfectly. Her body still shakes. A soft stroke down her arm calms her down.

The ground quakes, dirt falling from the ceiling. I hear re-dead fall down behind me as they lose their already unstable balance.

The wall with the plaque shakes until all the dirt falls from it, revealing hard stone, then lowers into the ground. It’s a door. The passageway beyond is dark, but free of enemies as far as I can tell.

Saria stops playing and I grab her hand, pulling her along. The monsters trudge after us and we reach a ladder. It’s shaky but it’ll have to do.

“Get on my back.” Saria hops up on me again and wraps her legs around my waist. I didn’t even have to tell her to.

The climb is long, and infinite hands reach out around us. But I can’t stop. Dragging us up with one arm, I rifle through my leggings for a dagger and pull one out just as a hand claws at Saria’s back. She gasps into my neck, making me shiver. I swing my arm back, severing the offending limb.

We make slow progress, but move steadily up, until the ladder is pulled taut.

“What the-” I can’t see what’s pulling it. Maybe down… yeah. At the base of the ladder, that fucking Like-Like is eating the ladder. With its strength, it’ll easily yank the ladder out of whatever it’s hanging from in a matter of seconds.

I throw the knife down and it sticks into the Like-Like’s exposed flesh, making it roar and stop for a bit.

“Hold on tight.”

I take the ladder three steps at a time, swatting aside the infinite arms swiping at us. Then I hear a snap. But there’s a ledge!

I leap from the step I was on just as it falls from a stone slab meters above us and grab a ledge a few feet up with the tips of me fingers.

I slam into the wall with a grunt and Saria whimpers as her feet are compressed between me and the wall.

“Sorry.”

“Keep going.”

“No, you keep going. Crawl up my back.” The infinite hands sink into the walls. They’re moving up here. “And fast.”

A couple seconds later, she pulls her feet back.

“Ah!” She yelps as she slides.

“Gluck!” Her hands snatch my neck, pulling me back.

“S-sorry!”

I pull my head forward, but I can hardly breathe. I gasp as she stabilizes herself and begins climbing my back. Her feet plant on my hips and push her up as she grabs the ledge I’m holding onto.

Soon, she’s stepping off my shoulders, pushing my head over, and crawling onto the landing. Swiveling around, she reaches down to grab my hands.

“Can you hold me?” I ask. “You can keep going.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

I let go and grab her hands.

She slides forward with a short scream, slumping forward, but holds. Then I feel a claw on my leg.

“Hurry!” I kick wildly, but it isn’t helping.

“Stop moving!”

I stop, rewarding me with a hand claw out a good portion of my thigh.

“Ack!”

“Okay, start scrambling up the wall.”

With the infinite hand happy with the little bit of me for a few seconds, I pull my feet under me and start walking up the wall. It feels like it takes a century. Dirt falls away beneath my feet, nearly making me lose me grip, but Saria never loosens her, her eyes watching me. She’s able to stand as I come farther up, kicking at the stone she stands on. Her heel catches the edge of a tile and brings me up the rest of the way. The leverage sends me flying. She lets go with a gasp and I land on my feet in a crouch behind her. The hands claw at the base of the landing, but without dirt, they have nowhere to invade. We’re safe.

I fall down on my side, yanking my cowl down, then collapse on my back with a heavy breath.

“Fuck!” I let a short laugh out, panting.

“You saved me.”

I look up. Saria’s walking down the hall, backing away from the scratching arms the way we came.

“No, we saved each other.”

She looks down at me. I can’t read her face, but I can’t see it better. Moonlight filters from down the hall. I’ve never been so thankful for light that wasn’t a fucking fairy. Her breath hitches. Is there something on my face?

She keeps walking.

“Eager to move forward?”

“Eager to leave.”

What?

I jump up, catching up to her.

“No, stop.”

“No, you stop!” She shoves me into the wall as I try to step in front her. “I’m done. This… this isn’t what I thought would happen. Ah!” She falls forward. I catch her before she hits the stone. Now I can see her leg. It’s badly burned, likely by stomach acids, and whatever that slime was has crusted over her skin.

“Please, just let me go.”

“You were the one who brought me here. You can’t leave yet. You have to save your people.”

“No, Link does; that’s his job! I’m just here to sob and be useless.”

“Stop talking like that.” I shake her, making her look at me. “We don’t know when we’ll be here, so we need to do our part and not lose hope.”

“How can I not? He’s been gone for six years, and Ganon’s reach only spreads. He even got into our most sacred areas. Nothing is safe. It’s only a matter of time before he wins.”

“Stop!”

She flinches, my shout much louder than I thought.

“How can you hold onto hope after all this time?”

“Because I lost it many years ago.”

She looks up.

“What do you mean?”

I lean back, falling in a slump against the wall behind me. She falls into my lap, eyes still watching me. My leg aches. I feel around in some hidden pouches.

“I’m… I came from the castle. I was there when Ganon attacked six years ago.” Her eyes widen. I continue. “I saw him kill my king right in front of me. I took the princess and fled from the castle that day. I watched as soldiers and servants, people I had known my entire life, get cut down in front of me. Ganon chased us across Hyrule Field, but we eventually lost him. Then the world darkened each day since. I lost hope for the future that day, Saria.”

“All of that… why are you still trying?”

“Because hope can be lost, but it never dies. Just like when you found me in the forest. I just needed a guide. And my… friend’s perseverance, her desire to see everything come back, having faith in the hero’s return, lead my hope back to me. Now, I fight to hold it close, to be ready when he does return.” I swipe at my eyes. Impa never did lose faith.

I take out a powder, held in a tied cloth, and smatter it on my cut. I hiss as it burns, but soon the pain dulls into a numbness.

“Just keep going. It can feel like we’re walking on spikes, rubbing pepper in our eyes and shouting into the void, but it all leads to something. It leads to something that’s worth fighting for.” I touch her leg and she winces. “Something worth hurting for. You were very brave, coming out here in hopes of helping you family and friends.” Then I touch her cheek. She doesn’t look so despondent anymore. “Don’t lose that.”

Her hand covers mine. Cheri lands on Saria’s wrist, and I can see her sitting cross-legged.

We lay like this for uncountable minutes. The powder seeps into my wound, saturating it and entering my bloodstream. We have to move.

I remove my hand, and I think I feel her sigh into my palm. I reach over to turn her around, putting her back against the wall beside me, then stoop down to work on her leg. The crust comes off easily enough, like hardened wax. But the burns will take time to heal. She gasps as I reveal her raw skin to the chilly, humid air.

“I, guh, have a question,” she says between grunts. I mumble. “Why are your eyes red?”

Magic. Not that I could tell her that. “I’m a Sheikah.”

“I’ve never met one before.”

“Oh? Your people have. We’re ancient allies, working together to defend Hyrule from darkness.”

“Really?”

I finish peeling off the slime. I might be able to use it for something. Is it volatile? Maybe it can be used as a poison.

“Well, maybe we worked with the Great Deku Tree and his forbears rather than the Kokiri themselves. That was long ago, however. The Great Deku Tree served his purpose, dying as a warning to the rest of the land. We all owe him a great debt.”

“Yes, I know.” There’s pain, or at least memories of it, thick in her voice.

“As for us, Sheikah are few in number and serve the royal family. Our members are strong, raised for intelligence and subterfuge, and have dark skin and red eyes. With those exceptions, were are nearly identical in appearance to Hylians. And this,” I say, leaning back and pushing my chest out. “It is the symbol of my people.” It’s the Sheikah Eye, shedding a single tear, both remorseful and ever watching. Saria pouts.

“It’s kinda sad.”

I unwind the binding around my right wrist, pulling away a good-sized length of cloth. “Tell me where it hurts most.” I touch her leg, starting from the top of her thigh, and squeeze lightly as I move down. Watching her face, she winces at first but doesn’t make a sound. Her eyes squint, but otherwise doesn’t react as I move farther down. Then she gasps loudly, her head swinging back, banging against the wall.

“Ouch!”

“You okay?” I suppress a giggle.

“Y-yeah,” she says. She rubs the back of her head, hissing.

“So, your foot.” I sprinkle what I have left of my powder on her foot, sliding off her shoe gingerly before sprinkling the rest, and let it sit. This is taking too long.

“Thank you.”

“For?”

“You’re joking, right?” Her blue eyes stare at me, open and endearing. She’s quite pretty in the dim moonlight. “I would be dead without you. And, if not that, then running away with my tail between my legs and my head in my hands.”

“And you renew my hope.”

“What do you mean?”

It’s been long enough. I take the cloth and wrap it over the badly burned skin. She flinches but holds still after I wait a second. Soon, her whole foot is bound. I tie it off just before the toes and flatten the small knot. Her shoe fits over with a little light pushing.

“Try standing.”

“Not until you answer my question.”

I sigh. “Fine. When you found me, in the woods, I wasn’t playing my lyre for fun, or because I knew someone was spying on me. I was losing hope, my drive to keep pushing. Like you said, it has been six, long, treacherous years since the hero vanished, leaving us to fend for ourselves. I know he’ll return, he has to, but it’s hard believing that all the time. So I fight back despair with songs, lyrics, little fragments of memories and desires designed to draw me back to the path. Then you showed up, both with a path to my destination and a purpose, one that burned strong and bright. I prefer to work alone, but I’m thankful that you appeared when you did.”

She stands up with only a slight grimace, balancing uneasily on the wall before standing away from it. I rise, standing over her smaller figure. Cheri bounces excitedly between us.

“Ready to go?”

Saria smiles up at me. It feels like years since I saw it, but it was less than an hour ago that she last beamed at me. I pull up my cowl and tighten it.

“Do you always have to hide your identity? You’re very good-looking. It’s sad you hide it so often.”

My cheeks fill with heat. “Ganondorf’s spies are everywhere. I can’t take risks, and I don’t spend time with innocents, so no one sees my shrouded visage, let alone my uncovered face.”

“A pity.”

I blink.

“I’m ready.” Cheri spins around her head, making her giggle. “Cheri is, too.”

“Good. Let’s pick up the pace, then.”

\---

The passage out of the underground entrance led us into the grove outside the temple itself, but it was inaccessible to us, another challenge created for the hero and his tools. Saria provided an alternative route, one that branches away and leads to a different section. With any luck, this will be where we can make a dent in Ganon’s hold over the Forest Temple.

The way in shuts behind us, another temporary access point created by Saria’s sad song, and we walk carefully into the darkness. Moonlight creeps through cracks in the walls. Our hallway opens into a larger room, ruins and remnants of an age and civilizations long forgotten. Vines and roots creep up pillars, probably supporting them more than the stone they’re borne of.

“What do you do for fun?”

That’s an odd question to ask out of the blue.

Saria coughs, clearing her throat, having not spoken in a good twenty minutes.

“Um, nothing, actually.”

“So, what, you spend all your time brooding?”

I turn around to face her, arms crossed.

“I do not brood. I expend my effort on searching for ways to assist the hero and offering aid to those in need, of which there are many.”

“Wait, that means people do get to see you. I thought you said people never see you.”

“Ugh.” I continue walking forward. Saria giggles behind me. “Are you trying to get a rise out of me?”

“No, no, of course not! I just want to know more about you.”

“What for? It’s not like we will ever meet again.”

Suddenly, I no longer hear her footfalls. She’s stopped, and staring at me.

“Why?”

“You ask a lot of question. And I wouldn’t think that you would want to see me again. It’s best that I not stay in one place for very long. And the future… well, I won’t be around anymore.”

“You mean to die?”

“Not exactly, no. In a sense, not that anyone would notice the difference. Either that, or we all die when Ganon takes over.”

She reaches out, grabbing my hand.

“Please, please don’t talk like that. You were the one lecturing me on hope and perseverance. I refuse to believe you’ll die.”

I smirk, not that she sees it. Her skin is soft, even after all that business underground.

“Thank you. It means a lot that someone cares about my life. Very well, the hero will return and we will not be killed by Ganon. Better?”

“No! I don’t want you to die, either. Win or lose, you deserve life as much as anyone.”

I wonder, is she speaking to me as Sheik or Zelda? She obviously doesn’t know my true nature, but Sheik is only a persona, a guardian in desperate times. After the veil is lifted, there should be no need for this mask, despite how comfortable it has become. Does she truly care this much about Sheik?

“I… I will consider it. Maybe I will yet live.”

She doesn’t smile, but she releases my hand. I already miss the warmth.

“We’ve stalled long enough.”

The pillars here stretch up, easily fifteen meters or more, attaching to the high ceilings. Moonlight shafts pierce through cracks leading all the way down to the overgrown floor. Corners are still shrouded in black, however. I eye them warily as we walk through.

“Maybe we haven’t stalled long enough.”

“Hm?”

“I mean, shouldn’t stop and rest? This place is as good as any. I’ve brought food from Kokiri Forest.”

“No, I don’t believe that would be wise.”

“Oh, so you’re just going to snub my suggestion?”

With a heavy sigh, I turn around. “I’m not snubbing anything. I just believe-”

“What does belief have to do with it? I know that I can’t keep up with this all night. Dawn is coming and we’re to, what, trudge along until we collapse? The least we could do is-”

“Fine!” I shout, raising my hands. “Fine, we’ll stay here. Just, set out in the middle of these pillars. I don’t trust the walls here.” I’m too tired to argue further, but I’m not about to tell her that.

She lays out a mat I’m not sure where was hiding as I take my wire and wrap it around the four pillars surrounding us. Not too tightly, but enough to hold off any ReDeads or Stalfos looking for easy pickings.

“You think it’s that dangerous in here?” She glances up to me from a pouch at her feet.

“After what happened below, no precaution is too great. We have no clue what might have infested this temple in the last several years. That’s a long time for evil to corrode ruins.”

Against my better judgment, Saria starts a fire and roasts some raw meat she carried with her. Though I’ll admit that is tasted acceptably. I was able to hold onto my dried meat and nuts, fast food for a more desperate circumstance.

Final embers burn to ashes, leaving orange-red imprints on our faces. I catch Saria watching me in the subtle glow. She turns back to the pit, pulling her mat over her shoulders. I’ve never had much experience with the Kokiri. From what I understand, they’re much older than they appear, possibly even centuries old. Although, they are apparently lost Hylian children turned immortal by the Great Deku Tree and those before him. With an unreliable source of Kokiri and none reproducing, it’s plausible that many of their number are centuries old. But, they live as hermits, tied to the forest by creed and superstition. Not to say they live unfulfilling lives, but perhaps incomplete?

No, that’s being unfair. I spent my days in Hyrule castle until this tragedy befell us. Was my life unfulfilled? I had my books, my father, Impa, Link for a short while… I think I was wanting. But that’s not to say that the Kokiri aren’t satisfied. They aren’t me, after all. We are all individuals, seeking happiness and success in our own ways. Impa was tied to me for all my life, forever bound to the royal family, and yet it appeared as though that was all the life she ever needed.

But am I not just coating her opinion with mine?

I lean on my knees, staring at the coals coughing in the pit. Their glow no longer reaches our faces, but I know Saria continuously glances at me. Are my eyes so unsettling, or my demands to overbearing? Maybe I am still las lost as I was in the woods. I should have found my own way through instead of someone doing my task for me.

“What are you thinking about?”

What a strange question. “Nothing.”

“You’re lying.”

“For someone so old, you act like a child.”

“I am. Just, you know, with a couple centuries of experience.”

I scoff. “Why do you keep looking at me?”

“Because I wonder what you think about?”

“Must I answer all your foolish questions?”

“What makes them foolish?”

“Why must you answer every question with another?”

“Why must you?”

I lean back against a pillar, sighing loudly. I don’t even care if something heard me.

“By the Goddesses, you are frustrating.”

Her giggle echoes off the stone tiles like a summer breeze.

“No more questions. I tell you what plagues my thoughts, and you stay quiet and fall asleep.”

I take her silence as a yes. Cheri’s already asleep beside her head.

“I was thinking about you, how I don’t understand much about the Kokiri. It’s obvious you’ve been here for a long time. The forest is no stranger to you, no obstacle, as much a home as the house you built with your own hands is. And, what you’re seeing in me.”

“That can’t be all you thought of.” She shifts her arm underneath her cheek, staring at me sidelong. “Your brow was all tense.”

It was? “Okay, I also thought of myself. I’m carrying many secrets, as I’m meant to. But soon, I won’t have to, should fate be kind.”

“DO you have to tell all your secrets?”

“I said no more questions!”

“Aw!”

“Now go to sleep. I’ll play a song for you.”

Without waiting for a reply, I pull out my lyre. My eyes shut and my fingers pluck at the strings. Notes fall from them, floating through the air, mingling with the dying sparks, imbedding themselves in the cracks between the roots and vines, sinking into Saria’s ears. I can’t see her, but I know she’s listening. The notes are high as I ignore the darkness and the enemy. My heart seeps into my instrument. Fingers dance over taut strings like old lovers. I can’t stop myself from smiling.

It feels like hours, but as I catch the smoke drifting from the quiet ashes, I realize it’s only been a couple minutes. Saria’s eyes are shut.

I stow the lyre, but my fingers stroke the air as if I still hold it. I shake my hand and fall to the mossy stone. It’s not uncomfortable, certainly not the worst place I’ve laid my head. Saria’s soft breathes are my lullaby tonight.

\---

“Good, again.” Her words crack like a whip, and I react, snapping my wrists, flowing with the arm, as I release the dagger from my fingers.

It flies through the air, straight and true, before sticking hard into the hole Impa had created with her precise shot hours ago. I catch a whisper of a smile on her lips.

“Let’s eat.”

It’s meat, beans, all second-rate from a kiosk two villages back. But it’s as a feast to my starving mouth. Darknuts followed our trail from Sayleth over the mountains. I was forced to breed a forest fire from my fingers to aid our escape.

Impa chews silently, her cheeks hardly moving as she sits over her plate. Our meager lodgings were a kind gift from the owner, a free night for ‘two lovely ladies.’ I can’t remain in this form. We’ll need to leave before sunrise.

“Sheik.”

I’m not even wearing my Sheikah garb, though my eyes are still red and my skin dark, enough to throw off the less vigilant of Ganon’s spies.

“I’m not Sheik right now.”

“You must be.” Her tone stops me cold. I swallow. Her gaze is glued to the wooden table. “We can’t remain together any longer. Tomorrow, we go our separate ways, and you must become Sheik for the foreseeable future.”

“I… if you think so.”

“Don’t think, just act. That is what I’m doing, to protect you, to protect Hyrule. Ganondorf grows more vicious by the day, and so we must be more cautious. I have business that doesn’t require you, and you can do what I cannot.”

“I can? You really think I’m ready?” My hands clench the air.

“You know of the Kokiri, the forest folk?”

“A thing or two. They live, or lived, under the Great Deku Tree and are friends with fairies. Why?”

“They will be the hero’s first destination when he awakes. And you must prepare him. It’s out of my hands, now. But not yours.”

She looks up at me. Her eyes are watering, a sad smile pinching the corners of her mouth.

“I’m proud of you, Zelda. But the time for Zelda is gone. A storm brews, growing ever larger as we speak, and you have to power to change it.” She reaches over, grabbing my hand. I can’t even move to react. “Take your hope and my harp, learn the songs that sway the winds of change and mold it to your will. With luck, this world will be saved, and you will be one of the saviors.”

I couldn’t offer a smile back. Even tears dried in my eyes. She was gone before I awoke, and I soon followed. The world is a vast and dangerous place, and so I had to become more dangerous.

\---

Sheik. The word comes to me like a shimmer, the voice of a friend. Is that my name, though? Am I not Zelda? And if not that, then who? Another person entirely?

Sheik! Louder, more clear, urgent. Urgent.

“Saria!” I wake up, the light of the sun blinding my eyes. They adjust as I hear Saria calling back for me.

“I- I can’t fight them!”

Them? It sounds like wind and lanterns, some cackling. Then the blurry images come into focus. Poes, spirits of the dead tied to their bodies and negative emotions. Three have passed through my wire fence and push Saria towards my position. I pat down myself, ensuring everything I carry is still on me, and grab my lyre to replace in my coverings.

“Saria, stare directly at them, into their eyes. Keep them back. I’ll cut the wire. I told you this would be a bad idea.”

“So was the string wall you made.”

Point taken.

Using one of my last daggers, I cut the wires. I’ll need to get more when we leave. I hear two of the lanterns fall to the ground, their carriers scared by an intense gaze.

“I thought ghosts only came at night.”

“The forces of the temple are mighty, and Ganon has corrupted them. Expect the unexpected. Come.”

She and Cheri follow close behind me, Saria’s mat left behind beside the smoldering fire pit.

“I didn’t even have breakfast…”

“Here,” I say, placing jerky in her palm. “Eat while we run.”

It only takes a couple minutes to distance ourselves from the Poes enough for them to leave us alone, but staying put for too long will just allow them to wander into us again or to encounter and even deadlier foe. In the dark corridors beyond the open room we stayed in, I long for light. Cheri’s not enough.

“Be careful. I can’t see anything.”

“Cheri can scout ahead.”

I shake my head, not that Saria can tell. “We can’t wait. We need to move and can’t stop. Go, now.”

Our steps echo down the empty passage, coming back like a ghostly reminder of our movement. 

“Hey,” Saria whispers behind me. I suppress a laugh.

“You can talk. We’re hardly hiding our presence as it is.”

“Oh. Um, I just wanted to say, your song last night, this morning, was really beautiful.”

I cough. “Thanks.”

“It’s such a hopeful song. I really needed it.”

I don’t know what to say to that. My hand glides over cold stone, feeling for corners or recesses. This path can’t go on forever. But with Saria at my back, maybe it should.

My hand slides under the crook of a vine, catching and making me stop. Saria hits my spine with an oof.

“Wow, your back’s awfully soft today.”

“Oh, hush.” I roll my eyes and pull my hand back. But it won’t come loose. I tug harder, yanking until my skin pulls and aches with a rash. “Saria, run.”

“What?”

“Just do it.”

“No, I’m not leaving you, if that’s what you intend.”

“Listen to me!” I shout over my shoulder. In Cheri’s dim light, I see Saria’s eyes wide and mouth open. “Please, I’ll catch up.”

Her face tightens, and so does the vine coiling around my wrist. “No!” She reaches forward, grabbing my arm and sliding down. Her chest presses into my back as she touches my hand, feeling the vine. My breath hitches in my throat. This feels more intimate than when I carried her through the underground.

Holding onto my wrist, she tugs lightly. Very well.

“Alright, on three. One… two…” She jerks a second early, and so do I. A tile under us slips under the pressure, but my hand comes free. We fly backwards, hitting the floor in a pile I recover and pick up Saria. “Move, move. We’ve been discovered.”

“I’m sorry.”

I shake my head. “It isn’t your fault. It was bound to happen eventually. Go!”

We skirt across the floor, the passage opening up. It may have been an ancient hallway, or an aqueduct, difficult to say for sure. I feel vines and twigs snapping at my heels, and for once I’m thankful that Saria’s in the lead.

“If you hear me fall,” I say, leaping out of a coiling loop. “Leave me behind.”

“You know I won’t do that, so stop.”

“Had to try. It seems the forest is angry at us.”

“No, it isn’t the roots. I think those ghosts, or ones like them, have possessed what life is here. With the temple corrupted, nature’s defenses have fallen.”

I never considered that before.

The hall opens into light, and not a moment too soon. Vines surge outward, lunging into the sunlight after us. They’re black, no longer the green and brown they may have been once. My dagger easier to reach, I snap it out and strike back. The surviving vines retreat.

“That was easy.”

“Sheik.” Saria whispers behind me.

“What?” I gasp. In front of her, in the middle of this space twice the size of the room we slept in, sits a massive tree reaching up to the ceiling. If there were pillars here, too, then the tree has consumed them. Roots and branches connect to the floor and walls, creating a web of organic matter. But, unlike a normal tree, it bristles, waving in the windless space. The cords sticking to the walls undulate like water. The tree itself has no leaves, instead the bare branches are thick and covered with boils, and are attached to the ceiling, further extensions of the monstrosity. In the center of the tree trunk, where one might expect a hole or the forking of branches, lies a great mouth rimmed with teeth. The lips are chapped, revealing a sickly green underneath faded red, as though its human makeup is coming off.

It almost looks like it’s smiling, the serrated teeth held perfectly together. Saria’s frozen in front of me.

“Saria, this is it. This is what we came here for.”

“I-I know, but it’s so hideous…”

“Then come, let’s be away with it.” With a tug, Saria follows me. “Stop looking at it. It’ll be gone soon enough.”

I start ducking over and under the various roots and lines but they come to life moments later. Saria remains close to me as I deflect the assaulting tendrils, severing some and merely delaying others. When one falls, three more sprout from the tiles, cutting my clothes and drawing blood. I hear Saria’s calls behind me, but I can’t stop. If I do, we may both die.

“W-wait, I think I can do something.”

“No, don’t go out!”

Roots wrap around my foot and yank, slamming my butt on the floor. They don’t split as I slash at them, hacking until a vine snaps my dagger away.

“Saria, ru- glck!” My throat constricts as one coils around my neck. Tugging at it does nothing by tighten its hold over me. I can’t breathe. My visions gets spotty; I think I can hear Saria but I can’t tell. It sounds almost… musical. Is this my dirge? It sounds a little happy for that.

I gasp loudly, sucking in air like I just dove out of Lake Hylia. Sight returns and all the vines, the roots wedged between stone, are squirming like worms and the floor. And that song.

Turning around, I see Saria, eyes closed, playing her ocarina. I’ve never heard this song before, or maybe I have. It’s familiar yet new. Fast, high pitched, and cheerful, I can’t imagine what could have inspired her to play that now but it seems to be doing something. I’ll need to thank her later.

Roots and vines tremble under my step, enthralled by Saria’s song, and I reach into my coverings. Food, empty needle pouch, my last dagger, ok. I pull it out as I reach the mouth of the tree. It’s gaping open, a foul, thick tongue the shade of bloody vomit hanging out between its sharp teeth. Have to try something. With a powerful wind up, I throw the dagger into its mouth. The roar is unleashing forces me to shield my ears. I can’t hear Saria anymore, it’s so blinding. Its tongue waggles in the air as it screeches. Fuck, I can’t move. Then I’m on the floor again.

Its appendages have regained control of themselves. Oh no, Saria. I struggle to get up under the continuous assault. I’ll never reach her through this onslaught. Orange enters my line of sight. It’s Cheri. She’s apparently impervious to these things, or at least, being ignored. What could she possibly do?

She pounds the air with her fists, making a pouting face. She gestures behind me, where Saria is.

“I can’t reach her, Cheri. Saria!” All I hear is snapping vines, poisoning the air with their cracks. Poison.

“Cheri! Go- augh!” My boy drags across the stone, the vines rolling me like a rug. Towards the mouth. It’s going to fucking eat me.

“Shit, shit, no, no, no, no. Cheri, Cheri! My pants, get the fuck in my pants, there’s a pouch—oh no—that’s kinda bulky, squishy, get it and toss it in its mouth, now!”

I feel buzzing around my legs, but it’s not as distracting at the razor sharp teeth getting closer. I can smell it, like decaying flesh and rotten fruit. You never forget the smell of rotten fruit, acrid and vile. My legs kick out, braced against its foul lips. Roots quickly yank my feet down, making me fall forward.

My face slams into the base of the tree, forcing air out of my lungs as my chest impacts on the floor. Then the tendrils start dragging me up. I can feel the tongue wagging on the top of my head. Its sticky saliva attaches to my head binding, taking it off. My hair’s thankfully pinned up, but I’m going to need more cloth. I hear the thing slurping, likely thinking it just got a piece of me. It soon learns that it was not, in fact, meat and continues pulling me up.

Cheri flies into my peripheral just as it prepares to bite down on my head. In goes the sack of Like-Like slime. It hits something in the tree’s mouth, pulling me away from its mouth and chewing on the foreign substance. Its lips writhe, considering, then tries to go at me again. Did it not work? I’m not ready to die. Please, Goddesses, if you’re listening, help me, help Saria, don’t let us die like this!

Something incredibly smelly and wet smacks my face as the tree belches, possibly the loudest one I’ve ever heard, then I drop.

“Shit. Saria!” I toss off the quivering roots and dash to the back of the room. Saria’s buried in a pile of the things. I can only just see her hair sticking out of the top, but she isn’t moving. “Saria!”

I pull away the nasty things in handfuls, which stop moving one by one. I guess the poison really worked. My face is still wet, but I keep pulling, tearing away the scraps. There’s her face. She’s pale. Three layers of the things are coiled around her neck, tighter than a noose.

“No, no, don’t die on me.” Cheri joins in as I yank her out of the pile and lay her down. The vines around her neck snap off easily enough, but she’s still not breathing. Okay, I can do this.

I place my hand, one over the other palms down, over her ribs. With straight arms, I push down. I don’t know how much her child-like body can take. I never researched Kokiri bone structures, I’ll just have to be careful. A few pumps later, I check her breath. None. Again. Still nothing. I go again then open her mouth, take a deep breath, and breathe in. Her chest inflates, my lips pressed into hers. They’re still warm. More thrusts onto her ribs. More breaths.

“Please, come back. I didn’t sign up for this. Link’s the hero, not me. I just run around like a scared little girl, wishing and praying that everything will be okay.” I try again, keeping her lungs moving and pushing her heart as much as I can without seriously damaging her ribs. “I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I just fight off the monsters then run away. Never get attached. I tried that as Zelda and look what it fucking got me. Please, oh please don’t do this to me again!”

Water obscures my vision, but I can’t stop. I hear a rib snap, but I keep going. Holding her nose, I breathe in for what feels like the tenth time. My hand lies in between her breasts, feeling it rise as I inflate her lungs. My mouth fills suddenly, saliva and snot flying in as she coughs. I reel back, spitting, then turn around. She’s breathing. Saria’s alive.

Her body shakes, wracked with a coughing fit as her body tries to pump in all the oxygen it’s lost. I crawl over to her, rubbing her back. She looks up, tears welling in her eyes. She just reaches up and wipes tears from mine.

“It—ack!—okay.” She looks around, staring at all the unmoving vines, then at the dead tree. “You did it.”

Without thinking, I wrap my arms around her. She’s breathing, living, talking, like nothing happened. Wait.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, pulling back. I hold her less than a foot from me. “I think I broke one of your ribs, do you feel okay? Can you breathe fine? Does your head hurt?”

She just giggles. She nearly died and she just fucking laughs. Not a cute little two-seconder, but eyes closed guffawing. She holds a hand over her mouth, laughing like I’ve just said the most hysterical joke she’s ever heard.

I guess she’s okay? Good enough for me. She keeps at it as I hug her again. Now she settles into my embrace, chuckling softly against me.

“Wanna leave?” She asks after she calms down.

“More than you know.”

\---

The way out is quiet as we retrace our steps. I don’t know what to say to her. She seems to have understood what happened, or Cheri filled her in, because she doesn’t ask me anything. Rather than either of us leading, we walk side by side. There’s still danger in the temple, but not in this wing. And we casually walk around the dormant Poes, lying in wait in their little lanterns.

I occasionally glance at Saria who looks back whenever I do. Our eyes meet, she blushes, and we both look forward. For the first time since meeting her, it feels awkward. It shouldn’t. If anything, we should just be relieved. We have our lives and we accomplished what she set out to do. Together. Yet, why can’t I help this feeling that there’s some unfinished business? And the thought of parting ways makes my heart drop into my stomach. I’ve never felt this away, except maybe about Impa. I cried for a week after she left, but I had to get over that quickly. It wouldn’t do for a male Sheikah to be bawling his eyes out. Will I be holding back tears again?

She plays her sad song, not the one she sang to the tree, to open the wall once we get to it. It grinds open and we’re back outside. It’s hot, the late afternoon sun shining through the canopy overhead like sheets of buttercream. I feel the heat on my head, now that my head wrap’s gone. One more thing left to do, then we can leave.

“Let me take care of one more thing, then we can-” A hand on my shoulder stops me, spinning me around. “What? What is it?” Saria grabs my collar and yanks me down with it, and plants her lips on mine. I can’t move. I’m stooped over and she wraps her arms around my neck, standing on her toes. She soft, warm, and tastes like fresh herbs. I never caught it before, but she smells like lilies. I always loved watering them in the castle garden, taking a big whiff of them when they bloomed. I can’t help but indulge here, too.

I lift her up off the ground by her hips so her head is angled above mine. Her legs wrap around my back, like in the underground but the other way around. I feel her heat through my clothes and I think I’m sweating. She keeps kissing, like I’m the only thing in the world. Her hands hold my cheeks, pulling my closer. Her tongue’s sweet, smooth, and tangles around mine. I can’t believe I just saved her life from strangulation and now I’m about to suffocate her.

As if hearing my thoughts, she pulls back, still supported by my hands on her rear. Oh dear. My cheeks heat up and she giggles when she opens her eyes. Her face reminds me of a ripening tomato, red with a shade of green.

“Sorry.”

“For what?” I breathe.

She smiles and kisses me again. This is wrong.

I put her on the ground, earning me a confused look.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing, I mean.”

“I know you’re a woman.”

I blink.

“Is—it can’t be that obvious, can it?”

She laughs again. The way she covers her mouth makes my chest swell.

“No, I’m sure you fool everyone else. But this is why you shouldn’t spend a lot of time with someone. They’ll notice eventually. And your hair’s pinned up.”

I touch the top of my head. I need more cloth. “There are men with long hair.”

Another giggle. “There are. But you aren’t one of them.”

“And you still…?”

“Yeah. I don’t care about that kinda stuff. You gave me hope when I thought there was none, and saved my life more times in the last two days than I can count.”

“You don’t have to like me out of some form of thanks. Ouch!”

She jabs a finger into my sternum, hard. “I kissed you because I wanted to, because I feel like we have something. Do we, Sheik?”

I don’t know what to say. She knows I’m a woman, but not that I’m Zelda. Would she still hold on to me if she knew that? I can’t tell her. My identity must remain a secret at all costs.

But that’s not what she asked me. I step away from her, rubbing the back of my neck. I need to leave, soon, and head towards the next temple. She needs to stay here, learning as much as she can about the growing situation here to tell the hero when he comes.

The mere thought dries my mouth. Shit. I care about her. More than I should, more than I can in these circumstances.

“Look, Saria-”

“No, don’t pull that on me. I’ve lived for hundreds of years and know all the tricks.”

Well.

“Don’t ‘Saria, I’ me. Just tell me straight. Do you like me or don’t you? Regardless, I’m assuming you need to leave immediately.” I shrug with a shallow nod. “But that doesn’t change how we feel. So answer the question. I know you’re really bad at it, but just tell me so I’m not left clueless for the rest of my life.”

The rest of her life? Will I go the rest of mine never seeing her? Do I care.

I turn around and fall onto one knee. Now this looks really weird. Thank the Goddesses only Cheri’s here. I can’t imagine what she thinks of all this. I’m a couple inches below her when I grab her by the neck and kiss her.

I’m not good with words, not anymore. Six years of running and hiding, of learning an entirely new personality, has stripped me of much of my social abilities. I hope this act conveys my feelings well enough.

The kiss is soft, subtle, but I feel down to my core. Her hand caresses my cheek. Then it’s over. Her blue eyes watch me, their gaze darting over the pores dotting my face.

“Okay. Now for the next one: will I ever see you again?”

“I don’t know the answer to that one.”

She lays her arms across my shoulders and plants her forehead against mine. A tuft of my blond hair dangles between us but her eyes are closed.

“I guessed as much.”

“But I’ll do what I can, I swear it. And, because of you, Sheik may yet live.”

She looks up, a confused look in her eyes.

“It’ll all make sense in the future. Right now, I need to make a song.”

“Alright, now I’m really confused.”

I stand, stroking her hand as I walk away. There’s a stump in the middle of the area here. It’s well lit, a nice entrance for the hero, to be sure.

“Play the song you did in the temple.”

“The dirge?”

“No, the happy one.”

“Oh.” Her voice sounds light, like she’s smiling. “I didn’t think you’d hear it over all that was going on.”

“Trust me, I wanted to listen to you all day.” That wasn’t cheesy at all. I cough into my hand.

Without another prompt, I hear the tunes of her ocarina fill the air.

“A little slower.”

She does so, and there’s the perfect tempo. Nature, the breeze, this will be the hero’s first stop outside the Temple of Time. Time.

I take out my lyre and pluck a few strings. No, not quite. Cut it down to ¾ time, add a note here, and it meshes beautifully with Saria’s song. She stops and switches over to my tune, syncing with me perfectly. We play the song once, twice, three times, until it fills the area, dancing in the area, filling in the spaces of the rocks, carrying the fireflies that land on the branches of the trees. We draw out the last note and stop. She stares back at me, smiling from across a platform in the ground.

“What will you call it? Sounds like a minuet.”

“Um, the Minuet of Forest?” I shrug, putting the lyre away.

She laughs loud enough to make my ears hurt.

“That’s so lame!”

“Hey, I just write the thing. I need to make the names simple otherwise the hero might not remember what it’s for.”

“Well I’m naming it something else.” She walks up to me, her hands behind her back. I suddenly envy anyone who might be standing behind her. She walks two finger up my torso, starting from my belly up to my neck. “If Time Stood Still.”

“If only.”

She smiles, leans up, and kisses me. If only my song really could freeze time. I pull back, stroking her hair. She wears such a lovely hairband. I tussle it with my fingers. She practically purrs under the touch.

“But, if time stopped, we’d never change. We’d just be a memory.”

“Maybe.”

“Look at me.” I remove my hand and she looks up. I can tell she feels like pouting, but doesn’t. “No matter what happens, no matter what changes or where we go, what we become, this right here,” I say, holding her hands up, squeezing them in mine. “This was real. Thank you for… also giving me hope, I suppose.”

“Stop trying to come up for reasons to things and just kiss me.”

I can live with that.

\---

Link waves goodbye, his wacky smile nearly covering his entire face. The crowd that’s appeared outside the Temple of Time cheers, wishing him well with the childhood that was stolen from him. And then he’s gone.

“This sucks.” I hear someone say after everyone’s quieted down.

“You said it.”

“What now, princess?” A guard, one of the resistance fighters that had been living in the ruins of Market Square for the last seven years, asks me from my left.

“We rebuild.” A simple answer, not as simple execution.

The following month is a flurry of activity. Link never returns and the sages sit atop the mountain in the distance, ever watchful of our progress. Though they occasionally return to the surface to maintain order in their various regions, one of which I can’t stop thinking about.

With the new castle under construction and trade reestablished, things begin advancing quickly, and all the major decisions fall to me. No more father, no more Impa, just me and my fat mouth. The only thing I’ve done the last seven years is run around in circles. What do I know about running a kingdom? And now everyone expects me to hold all the answers?

Exhausted, I collapse in my bed, a room in the back of a restored inn, now under royal control until the castle is completed. My dress chafes and my crown feels heavy. I through it across the room and watch it ding off the wall.

“Ah!” I kick my legs against the bed rattling the frame, then flip over and scream into a pillow. “Fuck this!” I throw that pillow to the other side of the room and it pops off the door harmlessly. Where are my damned daggers?

“Princess?”

Can they hear me when I fucking sneeze?

“Leave me alone! I need… time to think.”

“Y-yes, your majesty, of course,” a guard calls through the door. They mean well, but I’m so sick of being followed like a mama duck at all hours of the day. No privacy, not stopping, just endless meetings and rules and bureaucratic bullshit.

I run to a small chest at the end of the room, buried under flags and old dresses. Gross! The chest sings open with a satisfying clunk and I pull out Sheik’s lyre. Since the things been shut tight, there’s no dust on it. Still just as shiny and firm as it was the last time I played it.

I slump into the wall beside the chest and pluck a few notes. Familiar notes. Ones I made with someone… who I care about. Who’s still here, somewhere.

“Here I am, at the end. The battle’s won, the hero’s gone. Now where do the rest of us go?

“Look around, what do you see? Restless eyes, dried up tears. Somehow it seems like we lost.”

I paw at my face, sniffing.

“Sage of trees, where are you now? Do you watch, us run around? Do you remember me?”

“How silly,” I say, putting the lyre down. “Now I’m the one asking the questions.”

I told her I’d think about it, about continuing my life, not as Zelda but as something more. Maybe Sheik doesn’t need to come back, but neither does he need to be forgotten.

Sheik’s outfit fills the rest of the chest, the last remnant of the past seven years. In only a couple minutes, I disrobe and replace my gaudy pink dress with the subdued, bluish hues of the Sheikah disguise. With a flourish and some odd tingling feeling, magical dust enshrouds me. I look in the mirror on my wall. Red eyes, dark skin. Somehow, I feel more comfortable like this, in my chosen attire, not that chosen for me. No one’s met Sheik. Will anyone recognize me?

\---

Escaping Hyrule Market Square was easy enough. Someone’s awake at all hours, what with so much work to be done, but Sheik is crafty and one with the shadows. Fooling my guards was simple and vacating the premises, even easier.

Outside the walls of Hyrule castle town, I take one of the horses held outside the gates. Shouting rings out behind me as I ride into the night. Stalfos and Poes still drift aimlessly through the fields, but they’re easily ignored. Without a purpose or a leading dark force, they are flotsam in the tide. 

My heart swells as I approach Kokiri Forest. Is just as big and grand as I remember it being, not that it’s been too long. I bound from the horse then slap its rear, sending it back to the city. I’ll get back the slow way.

The village is a good few miles in, past trees, bridges, and some additional natural obstacles.

It’s a lovely village, now full of the little guys currying around with their green tunics and pixie hair. Seems they don’t much care for the time of day, although it is almost sunrise. Sunrise? Have I been out so long?

Fatigue catches up with me. I haven’t even eaten. One of the Kokiri, a small girl with bushy pigtails, comes up to me.

“Hellooo? A Hylian? What are yooooou doing here?”

“I,” I say, clutching my throbbing head. “Where’s Saria, I need…” And everything goes black.

\---

I think I was… dreaming. Of horses? Wait, where am I?

I raise my head only to have a throbbing headache attack my brain.

“Uhh…” Falling back, my head hits something soft. A pillow. Didn’t I collapse outside? Something smells good, too.

“Sheik!” I know that voice.

Feet scramble over hardwood floor and I soon feel hot fingers touching my forehead. Wait, where’s my cloth?

“Where, who’s there? Please, I need-”

“What you need is food and rest. You really are an idiot.”

Saria. I can’t open my eyes, it hurts too much, but I feel her.

“Saria.”

“Yeah.”

“I thought… I thought you were with the other sages.”

“Usually. Darunia definitely doesn’t like it when I leave. But when Fado contacted me to tell me some scary, red-eyed Hylian passed out in front of her, I came as fast as I could. What are you doing here?”

“I came to find you.” I can feel water swelling in my eyes. “And I can’t even see you.”

“That’s what you get for not eating in three days. And drink some water before you dry out like a twig!”

A skin of water presses into my lips and I cup it, slurping loudly. It tastes heavenly. If this is what spring water tastes like, we need it all the time.

“Wait,” I say after a long swig. “You’re a sage now. So… you must know who I am.”

“Yeah.” I feel her fingers gliding over my lips. Even after all this time… “You’re Sheik.”

“Wha? No, I’m-”

“Whoever you want to be. And you showed up with crimson eyes, skin as brown as the dirt you walked in on, and wearing clothes fit for a thief. If you wanted to be Zelda, you would’ve been. I knew you’d come back.” Her lips touch mine and I savor every second, despite my weakness.

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

I smile. Finally, I open my eyes. There she is, grinning back, her face perfectly framed by her green hair still held back by a lovely green hairband. I reach out, grasp her neck, and pull her down. She’s only too happy to comply.

\---

I never knew the evenings here would be so cold. I stand on the balcony of Saria’s old home, now donated to visitors who pass through, staring out at the village. A hand slowly moving down my bare back draws my head over. Saria walks up to me, a cup in her hand and a grin on her face.

“Hey.”

I nuzzle her head when she draws nearer, rubbing her arm. My clothes are gone, wearing only a sheet tied around my waist. I don’t care who sees me. My long hairs hangs down, a dirtier blond than it is when I’m Zelda. Also a bit matted. I never paid much attention to how filthy Sheik is.

“How long do you plan on staying?” She motions to drink from her cup but I snatch it from her and drink it, instead “Hey!”

I swallow before responding. “As long as you can. Hyrule can wait.”

She takes back her beverage and swats me on the arm.

“Ow!”

“Get your own coffee.”

“But I want yours.”

“You have my everything else. You don’t need my coffee.” Her voice is stern but her smile betrays her.

“I’m glad you spied on me.”

Her eyes widen, shocked, but quickly recovers. Her fingers entwine in mine and she leans her head on my arm.

“Me, too.”


End file.
